Locally Driven Justice Project

Donor investment and interventions in Somaliland’s justice sector have not met expectations. This is because, for the most part, an outside organisation proposes work and institutions agree because “something is better than nothing” in an environment where resources are extremely scarce. The external actor defines, shapes and implements the intervention and the institutions comply because they need funding. This results in well-meaning development schemes which ultimately have little impact because they are not driven by the institutions themselves. This approach has not, and cannot, bring about sustainable change.

Horizon Institute is taking a different approach with the Locally Driven Justice (LDJ) Project by enabling Somaliland institutions to lead donor investment.

Driving the LDJ Project is the idea that if the Somaliland justice institutions own the Baseline Study data, are supported to create and steer relevant policies based on this data, have some level of control over investment, and are held to account, then policies will be locally driven, resources better allocated, gaps and blockages in service delivery identified and addressed, and the people of Somaliland will be able to access more accountable and user friendly justice services.

The project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).